Passing the torch

Updates - from....
New Delhi, India

April 17 is the day the Olympic Torch comes through New Delhi, on its way to Beijing. This will be a major day of protest action and here are suggestions from the March 10 Uprising organization on how you can get involved.

Already, one Indian torch-bearer (a Buddhist from Sikkim) has withdrawn from participation.

URGENT APPEAL TO INDIAN CITIZENS & OLYMPIC TORCH-BEARERS
Posted: 02 Apr 2008 05:27 AM CDT
When China ’s Torch Comes to India on April 17th - Speak out for Tibet .
We, the undersigned Tibetan individuals and organizations, appeal to all Indian citizens and, in particular, those people chosen to be Olympic torch-bearers, to speak out for the Tibetan people when China ’s Torch comes to India on April 17th.

At this critical moment, when countless Tibetans are suffering under a violent military crackdown by the Chinese government, we need to show that global citizens support the Tibetan people’s right to be free and to live their lives as they see fit.

The courageous actions taken by Tibetans inside Tibet over the past few weeks demonstrate that Tibetans have suffered unimaginably under a half century of Chinese rule. They are now risking everything and crying out for freedom. By speaking out when the Chinese government brings the Olympic Torch to India you will send a strong message to Tibetans, to the Chinese government, and to the world, that Indians support the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan people’s nonviolent struggle for freedom and justice.
There are so many ways for everyone to take action.

Torch-bearers can:- withdraw from the relay;
- wear a Free Tibet shirt or hold the Tibetan flag as they run with the torch;
- issue a statement in support of the Tibetan people before the Relay.

Indian citizens can:- join or organize a protest as the Torch passes through Delhi;
- wear a Free Tibet shirt or hold a Tibetan flag as the Torch passes by;
- plan a solidarity action in your town or city on April 17th.

As the Chinese government runs the Olympic torch around the world and attempts to whitewash its human rights violations and legitimize its illegal occupation of Tibet , tens of thousands of Tibetans and supporters will be speaking out to expose China ’s lies. Please join this global chorus of voices calling for justice for Tibet !

Torched

The Olympic Torch will be coming through New Delhi on April 17, on its way to Beijing. I imagine there will be an organized protest against China's human rights violations within Tibet. Best to check the Students for a Free Tibet website and get on their emailing list.

The Tibetan Marchers who departed from Dharamsala on March 10 also have a site with regular updates on their progress.

All over the world (including this morning in Greece) there are Tibetan and pro-Tibetan supporters protesting the Torch's planned route through Tibet. Here's a handy day by day guide to the Torch's round the world relay.

If you're stuck in a torch-less locale, you can at least phone, write, fax or email the International Olympics Committee (who keep insisting the Olympics are not political). Below are letter-writing guidelines courtesy Students for a Free Tibet.

Use the following talking points as a guideline when calling your NOC or drafting your own letter:
> Say you would like to leave a message with the President of the NOC. > If the Torch goes through Tibet it will likely cause further unrest, which would result in another heavy-handed crackdown and consequently more arrests, torture, and loss of life. > On humanitarian grounds alone, it is inconceivable that the Torch relay pass through Tibet at this time. > Please urge the IOC to immediately remove all Tibetan area from the Olympic torch relay route.

Here is a sample email/letter: To the President of the NOC of [insert country], As a citizen concerned about fundamental respect for human rights and dignity, I am deeply concerned that the International Olympic Committee and the organizers of the Beijing games are continuing with plans to carry the Olympic torch through Tibet. Right now in Tibet, there is no freedom of speech or movement and the entire nation is under martial law. International sources report that over a hundred Tibetans have been killed and hundreds more arrested or detained. As reports spread of arbitrary arrests, house-to-house raids, killings, and even beatings of schoolchildren, it is unthinkable that the IOC would continue to move forward with 'business as usual.' Allowing the torch to be carried through Tibet will greatly escalate tensions, giving the Chinese government an excuse to continue its violent crackdown, which will undoubtedly lead to more detentions and deaths.Allowing the torch through Tibet would indelibly tarnish not only the 2008 Olympics but the Olympic movement. The Olympic torch relay should be a celebration that unites people, not a propaganda exercise in which one people seeks to assert its dominance over another.
Tibetan people everywhere have made it clear that they do not want the Olympic torch to pass through their borders. The Chinese government's fervent desire to see the torch pass through Tibet is politically motivated, aimed at saving face despite the widespread protests, and asserting its sovereignty over Tibet. I urge you to place the needs of the Tibetan people and the values of the Olympic movement ahead of the Chinese authorities' desire to project an image of power and invincibility.
Please immediately appeal to the the IOC to withdraw the Tibetan Autonomous Region and the Tibetan provinces of Amdo and Kham - now annexed into China's Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan, and Gansu - from the Beijing Olympic Torch Relay route.
People, athletes and governments of conscience worldwide have responded with an outpouring of support for Tibetans inside Tibet. Please join us in saying "no torch through Tibet."
Thank you.
Sincerely,------------
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